The Peter Garland Papers and Soundings Records contain materials related to
Garland's various endeavors as an author, avant-garde composer, and publisher.
Notable Garland works present include his first book of essays, Americas, and the shadow puppet theatre work, Conquest of Mexico. It also has a large volume of
correspondence from family, friends, and colleagues. Many composers who were
published in Soundings are represented by scores and
other writings.

The University of Texas at Austin, Harry Ransom Humanities
Research Center

The Peter Garland Papers and Soundings Records
contain materials related to Garland's various endeavors as an author, avant-garde
composer, and publisher. Notable Garland works present include his first book
of
essays, Americas, and the shadow puppet theatre work,
Conquest of Mexico. It also has a large volume of
correspondence from family, friends, and colleagues. Many composers who were
published in Soundings are represented by scores and
other writings. The collection is divided into six series: I. Works, 1968-1995;
II.
Soundings Press, 1971-1997; III. Correspondence, 1968-1997; IV. Personal and
Career-Related, 1968-1997; V. Serials, 1969-1997; and VI. Works of Others and
Related Material, ca. 1920s-1997.

Series I. Works is divided into three subseries: A. Books, B. Shorter Works, and C.
Music. Subseries A. is primarily comprised of longer, non-fiction works written
by
Garland and published by Soundings Press. There are drafts, early versions, and
production materials relating to two of Garland's books of essays: Americas and In Search of
Silvestre Revueltas. There is a full typescript draft of Gone Walkabout, a collection of autobiographical essays
written by Garland during his world travels from 1991 to 1995, and later published
by Frog Peak Music. This subseries also contains materials for two works edited
by
Garland and published by Soundings Press. The most notable of these is Jaime de Angulo: The Music of the Indians of Northern
California.

Subseries B. contains many shorter articles, essays, and reviews written by Garland
in the course of his career. The bulk of the materials are handwritten and typed
drafts. Similar published pieces by Garland are located in Series V., in periodicals
such as OP and Institute for
Studies in American Music Newsletter.

Subseries C. Music covers Garland's musical output from 1968 to 1994 with the bulk
of
the scores from the 1970s and early 1980s. Many of the earliest compositions are
graphic scores, which consist primarily of pictures and written instructions.
Some
of the works represented have been recorded by other performers, including Guy
Klucevsek and Aki Takahashi. The two largest individual groups of materials in
the
subseries are for Garland's two theatre productions, The
Conquest of Mexico and The Bone Show. For
these, there are drafts, scores, and production materials related to the shows,
including some photos of the puppets and staging.

Series II. Soundings Press, is divided into three subseries. Subseries A. Soundings Issues, contains small amounts of drafts and
publication materials for all but two issues of Soundings. Most of the correspondence with contributors has been removed to
the Correspondence series, and most of the scores for each issue have been removed
to the Works of Others section of the collection.

Subseries B. Production Material is comprised of production materials related to
various Soundings Press publications. These include catalogs of works published
by
the press, as well as the handwritten mailing lists for Soundings.

Subseries C. Business Papers contains account statements, invoices, and other
materials relating to the business side of Soundings Press. There are a large
number
of maps and other materials that were in Garland's desk when he closed Soundings
Press.

Series III. Correspondence is divided into three subseries. Subseries A. contains
outgoing correspondence, organized by date. There are copies of some letters to
the
editor that Garland sent to local newspapers, some responses to articles by other
writers, and a few letters regarding grant applications. There is very little
outgoing correspondence of a personal nature.

Subseries B. Incoming, Alphabetical, contains correspondence of both a personal and
business nature. Many modern composers and musicians from around the world are
represented, including John Luther Adams, Harold Budd, John Cage, Lou Harrison,
violinist and composer Malcolm Goldstein, pianist Herbert Henck, Larry Polansky,
James Tenney, and pianist Aki Takahashi. Many of the composers submitted works
to
Soundings and were also friends of Garland.
Particularly notable is correspondence from the composer Conlon Nancarrow,
best-known for his works for player piano. Garland helped to return Nancarrow
to
American music by publishing his collected works, both in Soundings and as separate Soundings Press volumes. There is also
correspondence with Paul Bowles. Garland published some of his previously
unpublished musical works. Extensive correspondence with Betty Freeman, a
philanthropist who helped to support Garland and Soundings Press through regular
monetary grants, is also present. Correspondence from Michael Byron is restricted.

Series IV. Personal and Career-Related comprises various materials collected by Peter
Garland throughout his career. Included are clippings and reviews concerning Garland
and his works, as well as programs and concert announcements relating to Garland
and/or his works. In addition to Garland-related programs, there are also numerous
programs of concerts related to others, some of which Garland attended. Also
noteworthy are photographs of many composers that were used in Soundings and other Soundings Press publications.

Series V. Serials includes a full set of Soundings, as
well as various other music-related publications. Some of these are single issues
that include works by friends of Garland.

Series VI. Works of Others and Related Materials primarily consists of musical scores
and writings of others, some of which were submitted to and used in Soundings. Several composers are particularly
well-represented, including John Luther Adams, Paul Bowles, Henry Cowell, David
Mahler, Conlon Nancarrow, Larry Polansky, James Tenney, and Joseph Weber. Some
other
notable composers who are represented are Lou Harrison, Peggy Glanville-Hicks,
Ruth
Crawford, and Alejandro Caturla.

Audio recordings, books, and personal effects received with the manuscript collection
were transferred to the appropriate HRC departments.